season songs
Although the Monterey area doesn’t have the kind of seasons an East Coaster would recognize, any local will tell you they exist, and that each is magical in its own way. There’s that one week of January full of sun and gorgeous days; September mornings wet with fog and cold, sweet air; and the dream of May full of sun and the longing for school’s end.
In some ways, my emotional connection to the seasons is in arrested development, intrinsically linked to the school year. As a high schooler, I spent May staring out the classroom window and rushing off campus as soon as the end of day bell rang. And now, as an adult, I do basically the same, counting down the days to sweet freedom alongside my students.
Right now, I’m smack dab in the middle of May’s bounty. A fire crackling, sky soft blue and painted with lazy, drifting clouds., even now, at 7:45 in the evening. This delectable moment has inspired me. For today’s prompt, let’s reflect on place, space, time, and season.
prompt #42:
Pick a season: summer, spring, winter, or fall. Set your timer for five minutes and use that time to describe. What is the scent, taste, feel of the season? Maybe there’s a moment, a place, a memory that typifies this time for you. When you reflect on this season, what images come to mind? You can focus on the broad or the minute. Let your pen/fingers wander.
And then, after five minutes are up, take a little break. Maybe close your eyes and tap into that season as best you can. Go back and read what you wrote. Does it match that feeling? You may find the seed of something worth exploring. Follow the trail, see where it goes.
And, as always, please send your piece my way if you’d like me to include it in next week’s Sun Showers (I would love to read what you’re creating these days!).
ashley's piece:
Summer slips in slowly,
then fast.
A knock on the door.
A step on the stair.
We drift off,
cozy,
drinking beach air
seasoned with smoke.
I could doze here forever,
cold beer on my tongue, a little fuzz in my brain.
And there, we can see
when the sun starts to dip,
those glowing trees turn rose,
and that shimmer above the fire
is our passage to some other world.